


A Difficult Conversation

by my_name_is_gil



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-03-10 01:24:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18928480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/my_name_is_gil/pseuds/my_name_is_gil
Summary: Caleb is left alone in the Xhorhouse, waiting for his friends' return.





	A Difficult Conversation

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [oathbreaker14](https://oathbreaker14.tumblr.com/) (on tumblr) for drawing the lovely [comic](https://oathbreaker14.tumblr.com/post/185061445525/i-got-a-few-messages-about-this-so-i-added-some) to inspire this!

Caleb was hoping the teleportation circle worked because he hadn't seen his friends for a couple of hours now. He had been pacing the floor of the War Room, waiting for his compatriots to return. He was hoping Jester, or even Caduceus would have called him by now. Unless, of course, they were knee deep in battle. Or worse… He didn't want to think about that option. He decided that he needed a distraction, or he could be spending the next few days lost in worry. Their journey to Nicodranas to reconnect Nott and Yeza with their son was to be a dangerous one, but someone had to stay behind. In case the Xhorhasians suspected anything, someone had to stay behind to make sure the circle stayed intact. Otherwise, no one could return, and that was a risk no one wanted to take. So Caleb decided to stay. If the circle did break, he would be the only one who knew how to fix it. He, of course, didn't mention that he felt like a hazard in a fight, after what had happened with the succubus. He didn't need to mention it: they all still remembered.

After too much pacing, Caleb found himself in the library, looking for a book to read. Or, more likely, to reread. He had been spending so much money on spell components lately that he had not had time in Xhorhas to go book shopping. He dragged his hand along the smooth, dark Xhorhasian wood of the shelves. They were new and in good shape. But unsurprisingly, they were pretty barren.

He spotted a book he hadn't read in a while. "The Courting of the Crick." He chuckled to himself and looked over the worn brown color of its leather. He took a seat by the window and began to read. He was about 20 pages in before he heard footsteps coming up behind him. Caleb halted. With one hand still on the book, he took a bit of molasses from the pouch in his pocket and cast _Slow_ on the person entering the room. It took a second to process that he knew who she was, but he dropped his concentration as soon as he had realized.

"I'm so sorry, Jester, I didn't know it was you!" He exclaimed to his semi-dazed friend.

"Don't worry," she chuckled, "I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that." She was looking up at him, smiling, and a bit of Caleb's heart melted inside his chest. "Actually, it was kind of fun. Could you do it again?"

"Maybe another time, Fräulein," he smiled back softly. He sat back down in his armchair, continuing to make eye contact. "What are you still doing here? I thought you were going to go with the others?"

"Well, I was," Jester looked down at her feet, "But then I decided I should stay."

"And why is that?"

She looked back up at him, her cheeks minorly flushing. "I wanted to make sure you would be safe. Face it, Cay-leb, you are kind of squishy." He tried his hardest not to let his grin take over his entire face, and he managed to restrain it for the most part. She piped up again, "Plus, then I could contact the others if they're not contacting us, just to make sure we know if they've been killed or kidnapped or something." She paused for a moment to take a breath. "I'm sure Caduceus has got them covered."

"I'm sure he does," Caleb reassured her, "And I feel much safer knowing you're here now." He had let the last part slip out and involuntarily held his breath for the moment before she responded.

"Really, Cay-leb?" Jester's face lit up, and Caleb's face lightened with it.

"Really, Jester." To avoid an explanation, Caleb grabbed his book a little too quickly. He recast _Light_ , and the four usual globules appeared on the ceiling above him. Jester sat down awkwardly in the armchair next to him, unsure of what else to do.

"So..." she spoke finally, "What book are you reading?" Caleb held up to show the deer-leather cover of the book, and she nodded in understanding. "Oh, the book about… the Krynn." She stopped. "It's kind of awful that we kept calling them that, now that we know a few of them."

"We didn't know any better," Caleb turned to Jester. "The Empire did everything they could to prevent any kind of sympathy for the Krynn. Got rid of books, of history, any traces of them in our world. And of course, the Menagerie Coast had to comply as well." Jester nodded, but her eyes were watching her hands, occupied by further fraying the already broken seams of the chair.

"Caleb," she asked, "Do you miss home?" He felt a pang of guilt welling up inside him. His mind flitted to several places, none of them good. 

"I... I did," he finally replied, looking back down at his book. "But there's nothing left for me there."

They sat in silence for a while. Caleb pretended to read his book, still looking at Jester from the corner of his eye. "I like it here, but I do kinda miss the sun, you know?" Caleb, still looking down at his book, let the corners of his mouth curl up just slightly.

"It is not so bad for us. You are plenty bright on your own, Jester." Her head shot up to look at him, but he remained just as calm as he always did. She waited for him to meet her gaze, and as soon as he complied, she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Careful, Cay-leb," she giggled, "I'm going to think you actually _are_ secretly in love with me." A touch of light pink spread to his cheeks as a bit of his cool demeanor slipped away.

"Ja," he whispered, "Imagine that." He closed his book, placed it on his armchair, and walked out of the room. Jester remained there for a while, just sitting. She stared at the book on his chair, and found herself smiling in the library alone.


End file.
